5931 —הרבות מדת החסד בימים שבין יו"ד לי"ט כסלו, וגמילות חסדים כעיקר העבודה בעקבתא דמשיחא

B"H, 17 Kislev, 5718
Brooklyn.

The Gemilus Chasadim Committee at the Beis Midrash Lubavitch in Montreal^[1], may G‑d be upon them, may they live

Shalom u'Vrachah!

I read with pleasure the letter of last Erev Shabbos Kodesh, in which you write about the appointment of the committee of the gemilus chasadim fund and your decisions on the ways it will operate. May it be G‑d's will that "the desire of G‑d will succeed in your hands"^[2] to increase the attribute of kindness in the world, as in the well-known saying of our Sages, of blessed memory, "Gemilus chasadim is greater... [for it is] both for the rich..."^[3]

And "merit is brought about on meritorious days"^[4]: the days between the days of redemption, Yud and Yud-Tes Kislev^[5], whose heroes gave their lives for the matters of Ahavas Yisrael in general and gemilus chasadim in particular. As is told and explained in many places, one wonder after another, to the point that they said that "Love your fellow as yourself" is a vessel for, and one with, "Love the L‑rd your G‑d"^[6]; and in the Iggeres HaKodesh of the Alter Rebbe, section 9^[7], how the entire main service of G‑d in these times, in the footsteps of Mashiach, lies in this.

May it be G‑d's will that very soon indeed we merit the conclusion and seal of this letter of the Iggeres HaKodesh: "he will merit to see, eye to eye, when G‑d returns to Zion," etc.^[8]

With blessing to increase activity in all that was said, with joy and gladness of heart, and for good news, and for a joyous and active farbrengen.

Awaiting good news.

P.S.

In keeping with the verse, "I am a friend to all who fear You and to those who keep Your precepts"^[9], I enclose herewith my personal check as my participation in your most lofty undertaking.

Notes

1. The Gemilus Chasadim Committee (ועד גמילות חסדים): The committee of the free-loan fund founded at the Beis Midrash Lubavitch in Montreal. Some years later the Rebbe wrote to the board of this fund as well, below, vol. 22, letter 8574 (11 Teves 5723), in reply to its appeal to raise money for the fund, and there too he enclosed a check as his participation.

2. "The desire of G‑d will succeed in your hands" (חפץ ה' בידם יצליח): Based on Yeshayahu 53:10, "and the desire of G‑d will succeed in his hand."

3. "Gemilus chasadim is greater" (גדולה גמילות חסדים): Sukkah 49b: "In three ways gemilus chasadim is greater than charity: charity is with one's money, gemilus chasadim both with one's person and with one's money; charity is for the poor, gemilus chasadim both for the poor and for the rich; charity is for the living, gemilus chasadim both for the living and for the dead." A free loan and practical help reach the well-off too, and so its merit is greater.

4. "Merit is brought about on meritorious days" (מגלגלין זכות ליומין זכאין): After our Sages (Taanis 29a), "Merit is brought about on a meritorious day, and liability on a day of liability"; here in the plural, "meritorious days." It is no accident that the committee began its work in these days between Yud and Yud-Tes Kislev.

5. Yud and Yud-Tes Kislev (יו"ד וי"ט כסלו): Yud Kislev is the day of the Mitteler Rebbe's release from imprisonment (5587); Yud-Tes Kislev, that of the Alter Rebbe's release in Petersburg (5559). They are "the heroes of the celebration" mentioned next.

6. A vessel for, and one with, "Love the L‑rd your G‑d" (כלי הוא וחד עם ואהבת את ה' אלקיך): See Hayom Yom, 6 Tishrei: "Love your fellow as yourself, as the Alter Rebbe said, is a vessel for 'Love the L‑rd your G‑d'"; and Hayom Yom, 12 Menachem Av, in the name of the Alter Rebbe, from the Maggid, from the Baal Shem Tov: "Love your fellow as yourself is an explanation and commentary on Love the L‑rd your G‑d." The verses are Vayikra 19:18 and Devarim 6:5.

7. Iggeres HaKodesh, section 9 (אגה"ק לרבנו הזקן סי' ט): There (Iggeres HaKodesh 9): "how the entire main service of G‑d in these times, in the footsteps of Mashiach, is the service of charity, as our Sages said: Israel will be redeemed only through charity."

8. "When G‑d returns to Zion" (עין בעין בשוב ה' ציון): Iggeres HaKodesh 9 ends, "and he will merit to see, eye to eye, when G‑d returns to Zion," after Yeshayahu 52:8, "for eye to eye they will see when G‑d returns to Zion." The Rebbe blesses them that we soon reach that conclusion of the letter, the Redemption.

9. "I am a friend to all who fear You" (חבר אני לכל אשר יראוך): Tehillim 119:63. By contributing, the Rebbe makes himself a "friend" of the founders and their undertaking.

Summary

A fund for free loans begun in the days between Yud and Yud-Tes Kislev carries the merit of those days, whose heroes gave their lives for Ahavas Yisrael. Love of one's fellow is one with love of G‑d, and kindness is the main service of the generation before Mashiach; the Rebbe joins the effort with his own check.